Spinach and Shrimp Lasagna Rolls with Alfredo Sauce

Sometimes you just have to cook something special!  Michael called yesterday afternoon and was in kind of a funk.  Knowing that showing affection through food is something that will often cheer him up I went on a search for a special recipe.  You all remember the great Lasagna episode from last week...well I had some cooked noodles left over.  In the freezer was also 1/2 a bag of spinach and some shrimp so off to the Internet I went! 

Red sauce doesn't always cut it for me, for some reason it often makes us get up from the table feeling over full so the thought was a white sauce.  I perused many, many recipes but none worked for me.  Either the ratings just weren't good or after reading the ingredients it just turned me off so, using a bit that I had read (mostly the cooking time and suggestions on the amount of cheese to use) this recipe was born.  I was going to include pictures of the new herbs growing merrily in their new pots but the camera has decided it once again needs new batteries.

Ready to go in the oven!

Spinach and Shrimp filled Lasagna Roll Ups with Alfredo Sauce

Lasagna

6 lasagna noodles pre-cooked (do not use no cook noodles)

1 box frozen spinach (cooked and squeezed to get all the water out)

¾ lb raw shrimp (de-veined, peeled and coarsely chopped)

1 ½ cups fat free cottage cheese

1 cup Mozzarella shredded

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 egg

1 tablespoon fresh oregano

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

1 tablespoon basil

1 tsp kosher salt

2 cups (or more) Alfredo sauce

Alfredo Sauce

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 cup Parmesan cheese

2 cups fat free milk

Prepare Alfredo sauce, to do so melt butter in a medium size sauce pan over a medium heat than add the flour. Allow flour to cook for about a minute while stirring it. Add about half the milk, stirring constantly. Add remaining flour and reduce heat to a medium low temp stirring constantly until sauce starts to thicken. While stirring, add the cheese and allow to cook for about 5 minutes.

Mix all ingredients together except noodles and sauce. Stir thoroughly to incorporate all ingredients.

Lay noodles out on wax paper (made clean up much easier) put a good sized spoonful of the mixture on each noodle and spread down the length of the noodle. You want to leave some space at the top of the noodle to allow for closure. Roll the noodles from the bottom up and place open side down.

Cover the bottom of the pan with about ½ sauce than put the noodles in the pan with the open side down once again. Pour remaining sauce over noodles (you can add additional cheese at this point if you would like). Cover with foil and place in 350 degree oven for ½ hour, remove cover and allow to bake an additional 25 minutes or until the tops begin to brown.

Yes that is a new dinner plate in the picture.  Have you ever noticed that when you have something you don't care for it never breaks or tears! That was my old dishes....they weren't really ugly, I was just tired of them.  There is a sale going on at World Market right now on dinnerware, buy 4 mix and match and get 20% off.  That alone was not enough to tempt the cheapskate in me but when you add in my 40% discount and the $10 off coupon that I had, I was sold!  I have been debating about these dishes for more than 2 weeks.  I couldn't decide whether to get all 8 matching or mix an match.  I knew that the salad plates just weren't coming home with me but found some great green plates that worked.  The old dinnerware is packed up in the car ready for the trip to the youngest daughters house.